The Change-Up

Bawdy Switcheroo

         
 

06 August 2011| No Comments on The Change-Up     by Sean Chavel

 

Dirty-mouth sitcom that has some guilty pleasure yuks versus gross stuff that at the end is just way too much of a turn-off. The Change-Up is another entry in the body switcheroo comedies this time has two best pals of opposite personalities trade places. The success of these kinds of movies depends on whether the stars can imitate one another, and here Jason Bateman (“Horrible Bosses”) and Ryan Reynolds (“Adventureland”) do wonders with playing off on each other’s quirks. Bateman is the career-minded lawyer who worked himself through school and got married early to Leslie Mann (“Funny People”) and Reynolds is the incorrigible bachelor who will sleep with a 9-month pregnant blonde if it’s open season.

With these movies you usually get some kind of kazaam, and this one has the cheapest and cheesiest idea – @#!*% in a magic water fountain and a dream will come true. But they want their own bodies back the next day, but the fountain has been removed from the park [overnight], and the city records can’t locate its’ whereabouts so soon. Bateman is on the eve of closing a humongous settlement and with its success, the promise of making firm partner. Reynolds is juiced about a soft-core porno shoot that throws in guns and bi-sexual bedroom play. Naughty, naughty.

At home, Bateman has a wife who won’t hear a word. Actually she slaps Bateman, her would-be husband for telling his friend Reynolds (already in each other’s bodies) a secret only she would know that involved a malfunctioning vibrator. Reynolds, now the husband, is chagrined that he can’t successfully answer any questions about their marriage and even gets the date of their anniversary wrong. Bateman, now the foul-mouthed buddy, has to move-in and play husband with no sex privileges (either guy wasn’t going to get any, anyway).

At the office is smokin’ hot Olivia Wilde (“Cowboys & Indians”) who is the fantasy of both guys. Bateman has never cheated on his wife, hates the idea of even temptation, but his pal Reynolds forcefully sets him up on a date with the lawyer beauty as a favor to his pal now that he in his body. Wilde finds it refreshing to find a guy that’s fun and handsome, likes ball games, likes beer, likes a little sensitivity. At home, there are baby problems for the impervious bachelor with two infants that nearly get their hands inside an operating blender and play with chef knives. He tells the third older daughter to fight back at school when there is a snotty bully who likes tripping her at ballet practice.

The Hollywood recipe for comedies these days requires baby pooping, jokes that reference tools below the belt, masturbation, naughty-talking horny babes and brief boob shots that look sexy but are interrupted by bouts of flatulence. “The Change-Up” is no different than most of the bawdy comedies of our times with yuks way too low-brow. But the actors in comic impersonation mode is up to notch.

105 Minutes. Rated PG-13.

GOOFY COMEDY / RUDE HUMOR / GUILTY PLEASURES / WEEKEND VIEWING DEBAUCHERY

Film Cousins: “Like Father, Like Son” (1987); “Big” (1988); “18 Again” (1988); “Vice Versa” (1989).

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Sean Chavel

About The Author / Sean Chavel

Sean Chavel is a Hollywood based author and movie reviewer. He is the Executive Director of flickminute.com, a new website that has adapted the movie review site genre by introducing moodbased and movie experience based reviews.

 

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